Around the Region �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Santa Rosa County tourism enjoys a sweet season Governor Rick Scott recently announced that Florida set another record in tourism by welcoming 57.4 million visitors to the state in the past six months—the highest amount of any six-month period in the state’s history. As the new school year begins and summer slowly unwinds, tourism officials in Santa Rosa County are pleased to see a boost in local numbers as well, with an increase of $187,092 in collected revenue for fiscal year 2015-2016 compared to the same months of the previous fiscal year. “The continued growth of our tourism economy is great news for the local small businesses that depend on our tourism and they tell us it’s been a record season,” said District 4 Commissioner Rob Williamson. “Sometimes I don’t slow down and celebrate our successes because I’m too focused on moving on to solving the next issue. This is great news and will help us keep the momentum going.” Over the summer, Santa Rosa County saw the opening of the Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center and plans are approved for a new hotel on Navarre Beach in 2017. Coldwater Gardens recently brought glamping—glamorous camping—to the county joining the Ates Ranch Campground as an additional outdoor accommodation in the north end, and conceptual plans in the works for a Milton marina/RV park. But it’s not just new facilities that are bringing the visitors to Santa Rosa County. “We knew a year ago, when the BP funds were coming to a close, that the steep increase in visitors we’d seen over the last few years would start to level off some. So we revised our marketing strategy and are adjusting our advertising budget to be in line with our visitor population - and it’s working,” said Tourism Director Julie Morgan. “Many of our visitors share their vacation memories with friends and family on Facebook and Instagram, so we’re capitalizing on this user-generated content with a new social media influencer campaign,” said Morgan. “We also generated a nice increase in first-time family vacationers by promoting Santa Rosa County as a great homeschool spring break destination. We are especially excited about this year’s Beaches to Woodlands Tour which draws thousands of visitors to our area for a series of fall weekend events running September through November. As these visitors fall in love with our natural resources, their vacations to Santa Rosa County become a family tradition.” Volunteer with Chain Reaction Chain Reaction, Pensacola’s premier Teen Leadership Institute, offers teens hands-on service learning projects and personal development curriculum. The institute allows teens to not only make an impact within themselves, but in their community as well. As a Chain Reaction member, teens have has the opportunity to receive personal and real world benefits in an environment that empowers life skills and sets them up for success. Teens can earn service hours for competitive high school programs and the Bright Futures scholarship, a work resume based upon their personal and Chain Reaction experience, college prep assistance at “Senior Fridays,” and real world work experience through service based projects and internships. According to last year’s Tuff University Positive Youth Development survey, which measures character, competence, caring, connection, and confidence, Chain Reaction teens showed a positive improvement in developmental qualities between the pre-test and post-test surveys. Last year alone, Chain Reaction teens made huge impacts across the board as 48 teens served in internships, 103 teens completed service based projects, 110 teens participated in Chain Reaction’s leadership programs, and 20 teens were awarded college scholarships totaling $1.3 million dollars in aid. Enrollment is available to teens in grades 9 through 12 and closes on September 30, 2016. Membership costs $75 dollars for new members with scholarships available upon request. Registration is easier than ever by going online to mychainreaction.org and clicking “Join Us.” For more information or to register in person, call Chain Reaction at 850-202-0691 or email info@ mychainreaction.org 130.7 FM and 790 AM official home of Tampa Bay Buccaneers WPNN Radio recently announced an agreement with the NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers, serving as the Bucs’ official radio partner. The agreement covers pre-season, regular-season, and post-season games, with extensive pre and post-game shows, producing a minimum five-hour game-day broadcast. The 2016 NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers football simulcast, game-day broadcast, will be heard live on FM Talk 103.7 and Talk 790 AM. According to WPNN General Manager Scott Schroeder, “We look forward to bringing Bucs’ football to local NFL football fans. We conducted extensive research on NFL team coverage and discovered a huge fan base for the Buccaneers and identified a real neglect in radio coverage for Florida’s NFL teams. We welcome an opportunity to broadcast exclusive Bucs’ game-day and team-coverage throughout the year.” Greater Pensacola Chamber welcomes Bobby Bowden On Wednesday, September 14, the Greater Pensacola Chamber will welcome former Florida State University (FSU) football coach Bobby Bowden as keynote speaker to its 126th annual meeting in downtown Pensacola. Bowden, one of the winningest coaches in major college football history, will speak about leading successful organizations and life after football. Bowden guided FSU to more than 300 victories, two national championships, 12 Atlantic Coast Conference titles, 14 straight top five finishes in the nation, while leading the Seminoles to bowl games in 28 consecutive seasons during his 34-year tenure. Bowden was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2006, awarded the Paul “Bear” Bryant Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011 and remains heavily involved in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Bowden is also a New York Times Best Selling Author with his recent book titled Called To Coach. “We are so excited to welcome Coach Bowden as our keynote speaker for the 126th Annual Meeting. Coach Bowden had a profound impact on my life while I played football for him at FSU,” said Clay Ingram, Greater Pensacola Chamber President & CEO. “During that time I had the opportunity to observe him not only as a coach and mentor, but as the CEO of a multi-million dollar, high-profile business. I am thrilled that Coach Bowden is going to share insights into his formula for success with the Pensacola business community.”
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